Our procedure for getting a license to sell alcohol is very thorough. Our state is unique in the sense that in addition to a standard statewide procedure, we also have home rule municipalities that dictate alcohol sales to a degree. One of the main questions that can affect the decisions within a municipality is, “Can we trust this license holder?”

Every Christmas I watch A Christmas Story. Ralphie desperately wants a Red Ryder BB rifle; however, his mother constantly denies him, warning, "You’ll shoot your eye out." The Texas legislature has displayed its Ralphie tendencies as the House and Senate passed SB378, which allows for employees to "protect" their workplace and car with a concealed weapon. Using previous bills that create the legal framework called the "castle doctrine," which allows for a person to protect themselves in their home, the Texas legislature extended the right to self-defense to the workplace and vehicles.

It is impossible to write about John Edwards' press conference without first mentioning Elizabeth Edwards' indomitable attitude when dealing with times of trouble. We Texans consider ourselves fortunate to have had a number of strong women in the public eye whose presence was almost larger than life. It is significant, then, that seeing Elizabeth Edwards unscripted in front of the press brought up recollections for me of Molly Ivins' own struggles against cancer. No one can envy her position, but her composure and strength in a situation like this are laudable.

Presidential candidate John Edwards has announced that he will hold a press conference today. No details were given as to the subject of the conference. The announcement came late last night, a day after his wife, Elizabeth, saw the doctors monitoring her cancer recovery. Many are concerned that this does not bode well for Elizabeth's health, or for the Edwards campaign. Keep reading; we'll be reporting on the press conference as soon as it happens.

Consider this an open thread: what do you think Edwards has planned for the press conference? What do you think it means for the campaign, and the '08 election cycle?

I love the idea of public campaign financing. I love the idea of making the candidate process accessible to anyone regardless of income, and I think it would be great if our elected officials could be less beholden to big-money interests. But let's be honest — the only way public financing would work is if it were mandatory, so everyone would have to play by the same rules. Otherwise, those with ties to those big-money interests could simply bypass public financing and raise much more than a public system would ever be able to provide. And mandatory public financing is a tough sell to people who were elected by and whose incumbent advantage largely relies on the system as it stands now. It will be a very long time before we see that happen, if at all. And voluntary public financing is simply not viable.

Or is it?

A brief version of the British childrens' rhyme that was popularized, if only for a month, here in America last year with the release of the movie version of V for Vendetta goes like this:

Remember, remember the Fifth of November
The Gunpowder, Treason and Plot
I know of no reason the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot

The MSM is having a field day with Bush's lack of ability to do his job. We'll start the roundup by looking at the U.S. attorney firings: David Iglesias has a scathing op/ed in the New York Times on why he was fired. I imagine somebody could find the reasons for his being fired in the mass of emails the Justice Department released on the subject — if there weren't a significant gap in the emails released. The Washington Post has nevertheless started to piece together what is in those emails into a continuous narrative, which is good. The New York Times points out how all this very likely leaves the realm of the incompetent and enters the realm of the illegal — not a very subtle way to hint at the I word, if you ask me.

The Democrats are letting their power slip away. The White House and Congress are striking a deal so that Karl Rove and Harriet Miers can testify before Congress regarding the Federal Prosecutor firings. The White House is willing to let them be interviewed, but is being intractable about their not giving testimony under oath. Senator Schumer (D, NY) has stated that this doesn’t mean “we’re not going to try.”

For many of us, the posted speed limit is more of a “guideline,” to borrow a phrase from Pirates of the Caribbean. Over the course of a couple of years, we may find ourselves having an unwanted conversation with a DPS trooper. And we all know that if we properly time our bad driving behavior, we are rewarded with those two insurance-saving words, “defensive driving.”

Apparently the primary qualification for working in the Bush administration is drinking their Kool-Aid. Actually being capable of doing your job well can be a strike against you. Recent revelations indicate that it could even disqualify you totally from consideration, or get you fired.